Discover British Independent Shops Online
23 prompts for inspiring posts on Instagram, all with the theme of independent shops are amazing.
It is for independent shops (whether online or on the high street) to share their shop, products, story, behind the scenes and much more. Or for those who love independent shops to share them just because.
Here I share some reasons why taking part is so good for you, your business and your social channels.
Instagram Challenge #loveourshopsmonth. Are you joining me in the challenge?
Getting into the habit of being consistent is one of the best things you can do on social media, or for any marketing or communication. Committing to an Instagram Challenge and posting as often as you can manage, is good for the Instagram algorithm and good for ensuring more people see you so you are always in their mind and popping up in their feed.
Ever found yourself in the Instagram rut, or not quite sure what to post, or maybe you always post the same kind of posts and never been brave enough to show a bit more of you. Well with an Instagram Challenge now is your chance. Grab the opportunity to be as creative and as different as you like, you are doing a challenge, so go for it.
Be brave and get past any fear you may have around putting yourself out there on social media. People want to hear from you, so use the Instagram Challenge as a reason to just go for it. You will feel better for it and after the challenge is over you will be glad you put yourself out of your comfort zone. Everything gets easier the more you do it. Confidence is good.
Basically people will find you through the Instagram Challenge, they will follow you, and because of the way they are finding you, they will be the right kind of followers too.
Instagram Challenge #loveourshopsmonth.
As part of the challenge, the one thing participants do is be social with others who are doing the challenge. Also people who aren’t doing the challenge will follow #loveourshopsmonth and will therefore like, comment and follow accounts they have not seen before. I will also be sharing you a lot, more about that in the final point below.
#loveourshopsmonth is all about how amazing independent shops are and how we should all choose to shop with them rather than the big boys. The people doing this challenge and those following the challenge, have one thing in common, they like to shop independent and want to shop with them more. They like shopping inspiration and they like small businesses. Embrace this and get to know followers and participants in the challenge.
There is nothing to stop you from sharing the challenge images and captions to other social media channels. Post them to Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest for example. Always good to change the captions slightly for each, but why not share the posts far and wide.
It is always good to see what others are doing and the results they are getting. So why not use #loveourshopsmonth to see what others are posting and sharing. If a picture of the store room gets a lot of likes, maybe it is time to share yours. If someone shares their messy desk and the reaction is good, be brave and share yours. Or if the office dog gets the most comments, get a dog quick. You get the idea. I don’t mean copy but what works for others may work for you too. Doing a challenge makes it easier to see what others are doing and their success.
Instagram Challenge #loveourshopsmonth.
One of the prompts for #loveourshopsmonth is to share your favourite independent shop (not your own). So share the love. Also there is a Facebook Group especially for this challenge (Love Our Shops Group). In there are all the resources for the challenge, I will be posting prompts, you can ask questions and get to know each other. Plus, part of the fun of the challenge is to follow #lovourshopsmonth and interact with all those doing the challenge. Supporting each other is always good for community spirit and part of why running an independent shop or small business is so good, we help each other.
As part of #loveourshopsmonth I will be shouting about anyone taking part. This will include #regrams, stories, Facebook posts, blog posts and Pinterest pins.
All the details are in Facebook Group ‘Love Our Shops Group’.
I love championing independent shops, both online and on the high street. I am so excited about running #loveourshopsmonth as I get to share and shout about so many of these amazing shops, helping everyone to choose to shop independent every day.
I hope you enjoy it!
Barbara
Instagram Challenge #loveourshopsmonth.